Friday, March 17, 2017

Today in History for March 17, 2017

March 17, 461 A.D. - Bishop Patrick, St. Patrick, died in
Saul and now Ireland celebrates March 17 in his honor. (Some sources say he died
in 460 A.D.)

March 17, 1756 - St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in New
York City for the first time. The event took place at the Crown and Thistle
Tavern.

March 17, 1766 - Britain repealed the Stamp Act that had
caused resentment in the North American colonies.

March 17, 1776 – During the American Revolution, British
forces evacuated Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington
and Henry Knox placed fortifications and artillery in positions on Dorchester
Heights, which overlooks the city from the south.

March 17, 1778 - England declared war on France after
France's official recognition of the United States as an independent nation.

March 17, 1780 – During the American Revolution, George
Washington granted the Continental Army a holiday "as an act of solidarity
with the Irish in their fight for independence."

March 17, 1804 – Fur trader and
explorer James Felix Bridger, known as Jim Bridger, was born in Richmond, Va.

March 17, 1825 - Benjamin Sterling
Turner was born a slave in Weldon, North Carolina. In 1830, he was brought to
Dallas County, Ala. After freedom, Turner began a mercantile business and was
elected Dallas County tax collector in 1867. In 1871, Turner was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the state’s first African-American
congressman.

March 17, 1862 – During the Civil
War, a skirmish was fought at Riddle Point, Mo., and the Federal Army of the
Potomac began to embark on navy vessels headed to Fort Monroe, near Hampton,
Va.

March 17, 1863 - The Battle of Kelly's Ford occurred as
Union cavalry attacked Confederate cavalry at Kelly’s Ford, a crossing of the
Rappahannock River east of Culpeper Court House, Va. Although the Yankees were
pushed back and failed to take any ground, the engagement proved that the
Federal troopers could hold their own against their Rebel counterparts. The
Union lost 78 men killed, wounded, and captured during the day’s fighting. The
Confederates lost a total of 133 men. Among the Rebel dead was Major John
Pelham, perhaps the best artillery officer in the Confederate army.

March 17, 1863 – John Pelham, a 24-year-old Confederate hero
from Calhoun County, Ala., was mortally wounded on the battlefield at Kelley's
Ford, Virginia. He died the next day and his body lay in state in the capitol
at Richmond before being taken to Alabama for burial. Pelham's skill and daring
as an artillery commander distinguished him from the outset of the Civil War
and earned him the nickname "the gallant Pelham" from Robert E. Lee.

March 17, 1863 – During the Civil
War, Federal operations began on the west bank of the Mississippi River,
opposite Port Hudson, La. A simultaneous Federal operation from Montesano Bayou
toward Port Hudson, La. began. Skirmishes were also fought at Bealeton Station,
near Franklin and Herndon Station, Va.

March 17, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were
fought with Indians seven miles southwest of Blue Rock Station, Calif., on Red
Mountain; at Manchester, Tenn.; at Corpus Christi, Texas; and Sperryville, Va.
A Federal operation originating from Lebanon, Mo., that would eventually go
into northern Arkansas, began.

March 17, 1864 – During the Civil
War, the U.S. Sanitary Commission Fair in Washington, D.C., closed with
President Lincoln commending the organization for its fine work.

March 17, 1865 - The Mobile, Ala. Campaign began. Mobile had
had Union troops march around it on nearly all sides and all directions, except
into it. Union Major General E.R.S. Canby planned to change all that. He
gathered up his forces, which numbered in the vicinity of 32,000 men, and
started marching one group from Mobile Point and another from Pensacola.
Available for the defense of the city were perhaps 2,800 Confederates. The
campaign ended on April 7, 1865.

March 17, 1865 – Ordered to capture Mobile, Union General
E.R.S. Canby led 32,000 men from Forts Gaines and Morgan, while Union Major
General Frederick Steele moved northwestward from Pensacola with 13,000 troops.
The two columns converged at Spanish Fort.

March 17, 1865 - A three-day
Federal operation between Pine Bluff to Bass Plantation, Ark. began. A skirmish
was fought at Averasboro and another at Falling Creek, N.C. A three-day Federal
operation between Winchester and Edenburg, Va. began.

March 17, 1880 – English military officer and Antarctic explorer
Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates was born in Putney,
London, England.

March 17, 1886 – Monroe County Sheriff Burns, accompanied by
Ernest Ricou, left for Tuscaloosa on this Wednesday morning, in charge of
Travis Harrison, who had “been insane for several weeks, it having been found
necessary to confine him in the asylum.”

March 17, 1896 - Captain John DeLoach “showed his familiar
face” on the streets of Monroeville on this Tuesday for the first time in many
weeks. His late illness rendered him quite weak but he was rapidly regaining
his “wonted vigor.”

March 17, 1896 – A meeting of the local military company was
held at the “city hall” in Perdue Hill on this Tuesday night and attendance was
very good.

March 17, 1901 – Vincent Van Gogh’s
paintings were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery in Paris, the first major
show for the artist, who had committed suicide 11 years earlier, having sold
only one painting in his lifetime.

March 17, 1914 – Pro Football Hall
of Fame quarterback, defensive back and punter Sammy Baugh was born in Temple,
Texas. He went on to play at TCU and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

March 17, 1915 – The Evergreen
Courant reported that R.F. Croom had decided to make his new brick building in
Evergreen, Ala. two stories instead of one as originally planned. The second
floor was to be used for meetings of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of
the World.

March 17, 1915 – The Evergreen
Courant reported that Robert H. Jones and Henry D. Moorer had received their
licenses to practice law.

March 17, 1916 – About 1 p.m. on this
Friday afternoon, the long L&N Railroad bridge over the Sepulga River, just
north of the Wilcox community in Conecuh County, Ala., caught fire and 196 feet
of the bridge was consumed before the fire could be brought under control,
completely blocking rail traffic on the line until 10 p.m. on Sat., March 18. A
northbound freight train did travel onto the burning bridge and the engine and
four cars caught fire. The blaze consumed the cars and their contents, and the
train engine plunged to the ground beneath the bridge. In a short time, the
entire building force of the M&M Division and several gangs of bridge men
from other divisions, together with “track forces,” rushed to the scene with
large quantities of piling and bridge timbers, and before the fire had cooled,
they began working to construct a new trestle. H.L. Tucker of Evergreen, who
was Supervisor of Bridges and Buildings on the M&M Division, was in charge
of the reconstruction, and directed the work in such a manner than the trains
began running again 24 hours earlier than the most conservative estimate that
the repairs could be made. J.W. McFarland, extra gang foreman, narrowly escaped
death when he was struck on the head with a piece of timber being handled by
the pile driver. It was very fortunate that fast passenger train No. 1 was
running 10 minutes late. If it had been on time the freight train could have
waited for it at Wilcox and the fast train with its human freight would have
gone into the burning bridge. A number of Evergreen’s most prominent citizens
were on the No. 1 train.

March 17, 1917 - In the midst of Allied plans for a major spring offensive
on the Western Front, the French government suffered a series of crises in its leadership,
including the forced resignation on this day of Prime Minister Aristide Briand.

March 17, 1921 – The Monroe Journal reported that the
convening of the circuit court on the following Monday for a two-week term came
“at rather an inconvenient time for farmers whose attendance may be required in
the transaction of public business. With land prepared and a fine season in the
ground, many will be loath to postpone the planting of corn.”

March 17, 1921 – The Monroe Journal reported that the
acreage already set and to be set in strawberries in Monroe County that season
had been increased to a little more than 300 acres. Practically all of this
acreage was to be grown within a radius of 12 or 14 miles of Monroeville.

March 17, 1921 – The Monroe Journal reported that Dr. G.C.
Watson had been appointed Jury Commissioner for Monroe County, Ala., succeeding
Mr. W.D. Nettles whose term had expired.

March 17, 1932 – The Beatrice PTA met on this Thursday
afternoon at the school building. The subject for the afternoon was “Summer
Plans.” After the program, Mrs. Ivey led the roundtable discussion. The faculty
also challenged the PTA to a baseball game with the proceeds from the game to
go to athletics. Date for the game was to be announced later.

March 17, 1932 – The Evergreen
Courant reported that an old cap and ball pistol, which had been used for a
plaything for more than a year, and which in all probability was 100 years old,
almost proved to be a fatal instrument for Henry Mac Stallworth, an 11-year-old
boy living a few miles from Evergreen. The boy, according to a statement from
his father, Henry Stallworth, found the old pistol about a year before and had
been playing with it at various times since. Tues., March 8, was hog-killing
day at the Henry Stallworth’s house and a large fire had been built in the yard
to be used in connection with the work. For some reason the boy decided to
throw the old pistol in the fire, not thinking it loaded or capable of doing
any damage. Soon after he had done so, a loud explosion occurred and cry from
the boy was heard. Upon examination it was found that the ball from the pistol
had hit the boy in the forehead, striking the skull and ranging upward. He was
carried to Dr. G.G. Newton, who removed the bullet from under the skin near the
top of his head. The wound was not serious, but might easily have been had the
bullet entered the skull. The pistol was of the cap and ball style and it is
believed that the load was left in it years and years ago when it was
discarded, the powder being protected from deterioration by having been sealed
in the cylinder.

March 17, 1933 – Novelist and
author Penelope Lively was born in Cairo, Egypt.

March 17, 1939 – Evergreen High
School’s “Junior” basketball team played in the YMCA basketball tournament in
Montgomery, Ala. On Fri., March 17, they lost, 40-18, to Avondale’s “Y” team
from Birmingham. On Sat., March 18, they beat the Montgomery Eagles, 43-3; beat
defending tournament champion Selma, 16-15, in double overtime; and beat Oak
Park of Montgomery, 39-17. In all, Evergreen finished fourth out of 15 teams.

March 17, 1939 – Harvey McGraw, 20,
a former Conecuh County, Ala. resident, robbed Jaxon’s Filling Station, a short
distance south of Georgiana on U.S. Highway 31 and kidnapped two customers who
had stopped to buy gas. He forced the two men, Clifford T. Mann, 28, and
Charles D. Wilkinson, 23, both of Montgomery, to drive him south and when the
car ran out of gas about eight miles across the Florida state line, he had them
tied up and then shot them to death. An Escambia County Sheriff arrested him
about 10 hours later.

March 17, 1941 – The National
Gallery of Art opened on Constitution Avenue on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C.

March 17, 1948 - William Gibson,
the prescient sci-fi writer who coined the term “cyberspace,” was born in Conway,
South Carolina.

March 17, 1962 – Evergreen High School’s football team,
under Coach John Law Robinson, was scheduled to play the first of two spring
football games at 7:30 p.m. on this Saturday night with the final one set for
March 31. Evergreen lost 13 senior lettermen from its 1961 team and had 56
returning and first-time players out for spring drills, which began on March 5.
Rising seniors out for spring drills included Winston Pugh, end; Ronnie Jones,
end; Donnie Jones, tackle; Pete Tharpe, tackle; Bobby Lynch, guard; and James
Ward, guard. Other players going through spring practice that year included
Claude Aaron, Leon Adams, Steve Baggett, Ronnie Barlow, Mike Borders, John
Brock, Stan Coker, Scott Cook, Paul Deason, Alvin Dees, Jimmy Ellis, Mike
Fields, Bobby Hammonds, Ken Harper, Tommy Hartley, Ronnie Hayes, Jerry Horton,
Johnny Huggins, Bob Ivey, Billy Kendall, Sid Lambert, John Lowrey, Roney
Mitchell, Mike Minninger, Mike Moorer, Joe Morris, William Patten, Arlie
Phillips, Charles Pierce, John Pierce, Robert Rigsby, William Sessions, Ronnie
Shaver, Calvin Smith, James Taylor, Brent Thornley, Eddie Thornley, Wayne
Tolbert, Jimmy Warren and Billy Wilkins. Lewis Ramsey was assistant football
coach.

March 17, 1964 – The Evergreen (Ala.) City Council approved
new by-laws for the Evergreen Golf Club, which called for a $10 joining fee.
Club members had approved the new rules earlier and asked approval by the city,
which leased the course to the club.

March 17, 1964 - President Lyndon
B. Johnson presided over a session of the National Security Council during
which Secretary of Defense McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor presented a full
review of the situation in Vietnam.

March 17, 1968 - Members of the family of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Farnham Croom were present for the dedication of the new wing
of the Evergreen Baptist Church’s Education Building as Croom Hall on this
Sunday. The Crooms were devoted and active members of the church, Mr. Croom
being a member from 1902 until his death in 1966 and Mrs. Croom from 1913 until
her death. Mr. Croom served as superintendent of the Sunday School for over 12
years and as a deacon for over 50 years.

March 17, 1969 – Grady Leon Ryals, a 67-year-old native of
Lenox, Ala., passed away at Pensacola Baptist Hospital. He’d lived in Pensacola
for the past 40 years, was a member of Escambia Masonic Lodge No. 15 and was a
32-degree Scottish Rite Mason.

March 17, 1970 - The Alabama Space and Rocket Center in
Huntsville was dedicated, with Werner von Braun calling it "a graphic
display of man's entering into the cosmic age." Now known as the U.S.
Space and Rocket Center, visitors tour the museum, which includes rockets and
spacecraft, and participate in activities like Space Camp.

March 17, 1970 – The United States Army charged 14 officers
with suppressing information related to the My Lai Massacre incident in March
1968.

March 17, 1971 – Major League Baseball third baseman Bill
Mueller was born in Maryland Heights, Mo. He would go on to play for the San
Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles
Dodgers.

March 17, 1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph “Burst of Joy” was taken, depicting a
former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize
the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

March 17, 1976
– Major League Baseball relief pitcher Scott Downs was born in Louisville, Ky.
He went on to play for the Chicago Cubs, the Montreal Expos, the Toronto Blue
Jays, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago White
Sox and the Kansas City Royals.

March 17, 1977 – The Evergreen Courant reported that a
metal storage building on Salter Street, next to Evergreen Gin, was going up
rapidly. It was being constructed for South American Lumber Imports, a new
local enterprise headed by veteran lumberman L.W. “Sonny” Price Jr. SALI
specialized in quality Bolivian mahogany and first quality Southern Pine for
the furniture industries.

March 17, 1983 - Billy Crosby caught an eight-pound bass on
this Thursday, according to The Evergreen Courant.

March 17, 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the
"Night Stalker," committed the first two murders in his Los Angeles
murder spree.

March 17, 1993 – Hillcrest High School’s baseball team was
scheduled to play Pleasant Home in Pleasant Home on this Wednesday.

March 17, 2003 – Alabama’s quarter in the “50 State Quarters
Program” was released on this date.

March 17, 2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigned from the British Cabinet in
disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

March 17, 2003 - In a televised presidential address, U.S.
President Bush announced that Saddam Hussein had 48 hours to leave Iraq. Also,
ABC and NBC ordered their reporters out of Baghdad due to safety concerns
related to the rising conflict over Iraq's failure to disarm.

March 17, 2003 - Jose Canseco was released from jail. He was
then sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation for
his part in a nightclub brawl on Oct. 31, 2001.

March 17, 2005 - Several Major League Baseball players spoke
about steroid use with the House Government Reform Committee. Mark McGwire,
Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro participated. The hearing lasted
11 hours.

March 17, 2006 – The Crichton Leprechaun video was posted to
YouTube and fueled media attention to the Crichton Leprechaun Incident and
Mobile, Ala.

March 17, 2006 – The “V for Vendetta” movie was released in
theaters.

March 17, 2012
– Ukrainian Nazi guard John Demjanjuk died at the age of 91 in Bad Feilnbach, Bavaria, Germany.